Sheep have once again returned to the Meewasin Northeast Swale.
A flock of 325 sheep has been brought in by Meewasin and will be moved around to plots of one to four hectares through the month of August.
The bovidae will enhance grassland bird habitat by controlling non-native invasive species, reducing native shrub cover and reducing overgrowth grasses and shrubs.
“One immediate impact we saw was when we clear off the cover like this, ground squirrels, like the Richardson ground squirrels and 13-Line ground squirrels, tend to come back to the site,” summer student Alex Acton said.
“When you get that influx of rodents, you get an influx of predatory birds – birds of prey like red tailed hawks, northern harriers.”
Meewasin has practiced conservation grazing since 2004 using sheep, goats and cattle.
The practice helps enhance Plains Rough Fescue, a rare native grass found only in Canada, Meewasin said.
With files from Janella Hamilton
